On a Barbarous Coast

On 10 June 1770 the ship Endeavour hit a reef leaving a gaping hole in the hull. The crew managed to reduce the effects of the leak long enough for the ship to reach a safe location where it could be safely repaired, allowing them to continue the journey. The ship arrived at what was later known as Cooktown on 17 June 1770 and remained there for seven weeks while repairs were completed. Artist, Sydney Parkinson, described in his journal the area where this event took place as 'on a barbarous coast'. 

This novel by Craig Cormick and Harold Ludwick provides an alternative account of events after the ship hit the reef:

Panic set in aboard the ship as it was obvious that the vessel would sink. Four men including the midshipman, Matra, managed to escape in a small boat used by Joseph Banks when on expeditions to investigate new flora and wildlife. Once on shore, this group of men needed to discover how to work together in order to survive. They needed shelter and they needed food. The men knew that they were being observed by natives and they were also aware of a crocodile that patrolled the beach and river where they had landed. It all seemed an impossible task even after salvaging a few supplies that had washed up on shore as the ship sank. When more survivors from the ship joined their camp additional challenges occurred.

There are two narrators telling the story. Mantra recounting the situation from the point of view of those shipwrecked and Garrgiil, an aboriginal boy, providing the viewpoint of the natives watching the scene unfolding before them. From Garrgiil we learn about Aboriginal life, traditions and beliefs in that region. From Matra we learn not only about the efforts to survive in a strange land and the mistrust that existed amongst those shipwrecked, but also about incidents that occurred during their two years at sea, particularly encounters with natives in other islands visited. Matra aslo considers the effects of colonisation on countries such as Australia and attempts to warn Garrgiil of impending threats to the natives' lifestyle when Europeans decide to settle in the area.

In this alternative account of the ending of Cook's exploration of the Queensland coast, the authors encourage the reader to think about the effects of colonisation on a land and the people already living there and to consider the belief systems and association with the land that existed for thousands of years before the arrivals of Europeans.

Cook's landing on the Australian coast